Introducing Scalable Storage for DigitalOcean’s Managed MongoDB

Posted: November 12, 2024•5 min read

Today, we’re excited to announce scalable storage for Managed MongoDB–one of DigitalOcean’s six Managed Databases. With scalable storage, developers can add additional storage to MongoDB clusters at cost-effective prices with as little friction as possible. This feature release will help to empower developers to minimize downtime, grow their apps as data needs change, and make their applications more flexible.

What is scalable storage?

Scalable storage allows you to scale the storage of your Managed MongoDB databases independently, without the need to upgrade the entire database instance. This provides a cost-efficient solution for users who only require additional storage capacity. Previously, customers had to scale CPU and RAM alongside storage, which was inefficient for those needing only more storage. Upgrading the entire database instance solely for additional storage led to unnecessary costs, including the costs associated with updating CPU and RAM, operational costs, and more.

Key features of scalable storage for DigitalOcean Managed MongoDB:

Independent storage scaling: Add storage without needing to increase CPU/RAM.
Pricing: $0.20 per GiB per month, with a minimum increment of 10 GiB.
Maximum capacity: Up to 16 TiB of storage per database instance.
Security: Data encryption at rest and in transit.
Seamless integration: Compatible with existing Managed MongoDB instances.

Cost-effective prices: scale your storage without sky-rocketing your bill

As mentioned above, with scalable storage, customers can now add storage in increments of 10 GiB, up to a maximum of 16 TiB, at a competitive price of $0.20 per GiB per month. Scalable storage saves you money by allowing you to pay only for the storage you use–expanding or reducing capacity as needed. Instead of over-provisioning storage upfront, which can lead to unused resources, higher costs, and a higher cloud bill, scalable storage adjusts with changing demand, making it more cost-effective. Additionally, it reduces the need for frequent infrastructure upgrades or migrations, minimizing operational expenses and helping customers avoid hidden costs associated with unexpected storage needs.

How much storage can I add?

With this new feature, you can scale your storage up to a maximum of 16 TiB, the maximum volume size. Basic plans allow for up to double the base storage, while Dedicated plans support up to five times the base capacity, similar to scalable options for MySQL and PostgreSQL. However, unlike SQL engines that offer up to 3x scaling, the 1-1 Basic Managed MongoDB plan is capped at 2x to simplify the experience.

See how easy it is to add storage to your MongoDB cluster

Check out our product walkthrough video, where our Product Manager, Devneel Vaidya, shows you how you can enable scalable storage for your MongoDB clusters, and what it can do for your applications.

Benefits of scalable storage

Scalable storage offers users a wealth of benefits, including:

Independent scaling: With independent scaling, customers can expand their storage capacity without needing to adjust other resources like CPU or memory. This flexibility helps ensure optimal performance and cost efficiency, allowing businesses to adapt quickly to changing data volumes.
Cost efficiency: Scalable storage solutions can offer significant cost savings by allowing customers to pay only for the storage they use. This eliminates the need for large upfront investments in hardware and reduces ongoing operational expenses.
Ease of use: Scalable storage systems are designed with user-friendliness in mind, providing intuitive interfaces and automated management features. This simplicity reduces the burden on developers, enabling them to focus on more strategic tasks.
Granular billing: Granular billing provides transparency and precision in storage costs, allowing customers to see exactly what they are paying for. This detailed billing helps in budgeting and ensures that businesses can optimize their storage expenditures.
Automatic provisioning: With automatic provisioning, additional storage is allocated seamlessly and instantly as needed, without manual intervention. This helps ensure continuous availability and performance, allowing businesses to focus on growth rather than infrastructure management.

How can scalable storage help my applications?

Expanded storage capacity offers developers more flexibility and scalability for data-intensive applications built on MongoDB, a document database. For example:

E-commerce applications: Retail related applications need to store large product catalogs, customer information, and industry data. Scalable storage can help to ensure a smooth and reliable performance during high-traffic seasons, where sales peak.
Analytics applications: These types of applications require a substantial amount of storage in order to store and analyze high volumes of log data, metrics, and analytics in order to produce real-time insights and business decisions.
Gaming applications: Gaming data often includes player profiles, customer information, leaderboards, activity logs, and in-game purchase data. This constant flow of data can benefit from scalable storage, which offers developers a way to seamlessly scale their storage to accommodate user growth.
Internet of Things (IoT): IoT applications have high volumes of data from numerous connected devices, and require flexible data retention. Examples of IoT apps include smart home automation systems, which connect various in-home appliances like thermostats, security cameras, lighting, and more. Scalable storage is particularly beneficial for these kinds of apps because developers can expand storage on-demand, which helps to enable smooth operation as devices constantly talk to each other.

Get started with DigitalOcean’s Managed MongoDB today!

DigitalOcean’s Managed Service for MongoDB offering is a powerful, fully-managed database engine that allows you to build scalable, high-performance applications. And because it’s from DigitalOcean, you know you’re getting a reliable, affordable solution that’s easy to use—with pricing that starts at $15/month.

Ready to see what DigitalOcean Managed Service for MongoDB can do for you? Get started by spinning up an instance today.

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